In the treatment of sleeping disorders, such as sleep apnea (i.e. cessation of breathing while asleep), facial masks or nasal masks are normally used, as is known from the European patent EP 1 314 445, for example.
Such a mask covers the entire nose and a portion of the face. It is generally held over the whole head by a fastener made up of ties. The ties pull the mask toward the face with sufficient force so that a gas-tight seal is achieved between the mask and the face of the wearer.
In treatment of a sleep apnea syndrome, the patient must wear such a mask every night and for a very long time, usually lifelong. A positive pressure respiration is carried out with the mask. This therapy is known by the technical term CPAP therapy. CPAP stands for “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure”, i.e. continuous positive pressure in the air passages. A CPAP conducts a continuous stream of air from a ventilator into the mask which the patient has to wear the whole night. An elevated pressure, which prevents a collapse of the airways, is thereby created in the nasal-pharyngeal cavity. The patient can breathe normally, and the typical syndromes no longer occur.
An important disadvantage of the use of this mask is that the mask must be put on with a relatively great amount of force against the face. Pressure points in the face, face wounds and suppuration often thereby occur. If the ties are not pulled sufficiently, however, eye irritation can occur.
Moreover at least 15 to 20 minutes a day must be spent in hygienic care and cleaning of the mask and CPAP device.
Furthermore the mask system is a disposable article. Nowadays a patient needs 2 to 4 mask systems a year, which results in a great financial and material expenditure.
Thus the suffering of a sleep apnea patient must be very great in order for him to accept today's state of the art in CPAP therapy and put up with the discomfort, limitations and handicaps from regular use of the mask over a long period of time.
Described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,897 is a fastening member for insertion in the nasal cavity or in the ear of a patient. This fastening member was developed for monitoring of the breathing of a patient during anesthesia and for taking breathing samples. When used against sleep apnea, this fastening member, and in particular the one shown in FIG. 5 of this patent, leads to a tingling in the nose of the patient or to nose irritation, even after removal of the fastening member.
The invention thus aims to prevent or lessen the above drawbacks and difficulties, and has the object to create an aid which is practical, light, comfortable, simple to manufacture and to use, and is inexpensive, and which follows along with (accompanies without any interference) all head and body movements of the wearer during sleep.